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It’s hard to believe that I’ve stuck with this challenge for 100 days! Amazing and gratifying!

Today I had one of my formal observations today in AP Statistics. And it is FRAPPY day. The evaluating administrator is a former LA teacher and so the fact that a math class is actually doing technical writing (as per the Common Core English Standards) was well-met. Prior to today’s activity, I shared the Frappy process, the intent of each part and that my students were “well-trained” in the process.

And my students were exemplary! Everything I shared would happen did happen. The students were focused during the writing phase. They collaborated about their answers and adjusted with green pen ONLY after they discussed changes. They thoughtfully discussed the two student answers and wrote suggestions or questions along side the responses. They used the rubric to assess and score their own writing in red while asking clarifying questions about the rubric and the statistical processes and communication. They wrote thoughtful reflections about their level of understanding while also including suggestions to improve their understanding and communication. Here are some examples of their reflections:

Like this:

During block today, we have started writing inference analysis using the 4-step process in AP Statistics today. I guided the kiddos through a problem, talking through the requirements in each step and what I would consider a complete analysis. Yes, I truly believe guided instruction is necessary at times. I then shared the Inference Procedure Response rubric (I’ve been working on this periodically for my professional evaluation), showing how the 4-step process matches to the required AP curriculum. When students didn’t have any more questions, I asked if they were ready to tackle a problem on their own and they enthusiastically said “YES!” So I had them write up the problem:

In her first grade social studies class, Jordan learned that 70% of Earth’s surface was covered in water. She wondered if this was really true and asked her dad for help. To investigate, he tossed an inflatable globe to her 50 times, being careful to spin the globe each time. When she caught it, he recorded where her right index finger was pointing. In 50 tosses, her finger was pointing at the water 33 times. Should Jordan believe her teacher? Construct and interpret a 95% confidence interval to support your answer.

My students had 15 minutes to work individually. For some. this was a little uncomfortable since I encourage so much collaboration in class. Once they were finished, they exchanged their paper with their 12 o’clock Clock Buddy. I handed out the rubric and had them go through their partner’s paper and assessing each part. I then collected and looked the papers over to check how student-friendly the rubric was, to see if there were any adjustments to the rubric based on its use, and to look at each paper individually.

The process was similar to the FRAPPY process shared by Jason Molesky, a process I use all year to develop good communication and familiarity with the demands of the AP exam. Unlike the FRAPPY process, the rubric process today gave students immediate feedback from peers on their own writing. I wanted my statisticians to see other students’ write-ups to encourage organized presentation of their ideas, which I think happened. I also wanted them to assess a peer’s write-up using the rubric in hopes of re-enforcing the components of a well-written response. It was a wonderful process and I know I’ll use it again.